The manufacturing of carpet products through use of a tufting machine differs from other carpet making methods, because tufting machines insert loops of yarn into a backing of fabric or other medium. The backing provides the retentive pressure necessary to hold the loops of yarn in place, while an adhesive is applied to the backing once the carpet has been completed. Tufting machines generally comprise high-speed machines with multiple needles lined side-by-side that insert the loops of yarn into the backing material. The distance between the tufting needles is generally referred to as the gauge rate, and corresponds to the density of the carpet face. The tufting needles typically perform a reciprocating motion as the tufting machine shifts the needles back and forth as the backing is fed through the machine. For example, a particular needle may only tuft a two-inch wide section or column of the carpet, because the needle is shifted back and forth within the two-inch area. In more specialized tufting machines, needle holders may be selectively latched to a reciprocating latch bar so that needles may be individually selected for the tufting process. Consequently, only selected needles would be subject to the tufting process.
Tufting machines also provide the functionality to introduce a plurality of colors, which allow for the formation of simple carpet patterns similar to those found in woven carpets. Due to operating characteristics, tufting machines are generally limited to tufting carpets which utilize only six distinct colors. Generally, each needle of the tufting machine is associated with six creels. Each creel comprises a large frame used to support yarn cones, wherein the yarn is directly fed to the corresponding needle of the tufting machine. Accordingly, each needle of the tufting machine may be capable of tufting six different colors of yarn. Therefore, to ensure that the tufting machine can implement the pattern, carpet designers generally do not entertain patterns comprising more than six colors. Further, tufting machines are generally twelve to fifteen feet in width and comprise ninety-six needles capable of tufting over 250 feet of carpet and, therefore, are inherently difficult to anticipate during pattern design.
Also, the six color per needle limitation impinges on the overall utilization of the tufting machine. In order to ensure that a carpet will be continuously tufted without encountering a stoppage of the machine due to improper loading of a color, the same six colors are typically loaded on each creel. A creel is basically a spindle which carries the yarn for each needle. Each needle is adapted to receive six colors (one from each creel).
The process of mounting yarn cones on the yarn holder of the creel (also referred to as “creeling”) typically requires the tufting machine operator to load the six colors of the pattern onto the six creels associated with each needle of the tufting machine. This is true even though a particular needle of the tufting machine may not require all six colors for the section or column of carpet that the needle tufts. Such a process of mounting yarn cones may result in significant amounts of yarn waste, because not all of the yarn colors will be used by each needle of the tufting machine. Additionally, such a process of mounting yarn cones may result in yarn damage, because unnecessary handling of the yarn may cause the yarn to fray or unravel. Further, the “creeling” process indirectly limits pattern design. Even if a carpet designer created a pattern with more than six colors that could be implemented on a tufting machine, the tufting machine operator would not necessarily know how to load the appropriate colors onto the creels of each needle of the tufting machine. Manually determining which colors to associate with each needle of the tufting machine based on a given pattern is potentially more difficult than the actual designing of the pattern.
The problem with the limited availability of only six colors per carpet is that it limits the overall aesthetic appearance of the carpet. Basically, it is customary for consumers to desire ornate and aesthetically pleasing carpets which utilize significantly more than six colors, such as flower or animal patterns which require extensive colorization. Such designs are typically unavailable when limited to only six colors.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system and method of analyzing a pattern that automatically determines the appropriate palette of colors used within the pattern.
There is also a need in the art for a system and method of analyzing a pattern that automatically determines the validity of a pattern in association with a predetermined tufting machine.
Further, there is a need in the art for a system and method of analyzing a pattern that automatically determines the number of yarn cones necessary to implement the pattern on a tufting machine.
Additionally, there is a need in the art for a system and method of analyzing a pattern that automatically determines the amount of yarn for each color to be used with each needle of a tufting machine and how the yarn should be loaded onto the tufting machine based on needle position.